[This overview was prepared for Learning in Deed, an initiative launched by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.]

The notion of national service began during the New Deal Era under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Through the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps, millions of young people served terms of 6 to 18 months to help restore the nation's parks, revitalize the economy, and support their families and friends. President Roosevelt also enacted the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, popularly known as the GI Bill. The GI Bill was developed to link service and education, offering Americans educational opportunities in return for service to their country.

President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to promote world peace and offer trained volunteers to assist developing and underdeveloped countries. In 1964, as part of the "War on Poverty," President Lyndon B. Johnson created VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), the National Teacher Corps, the Job Corps, and the University Year of Action. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program also were developed in the 1960's to engage older Americans in the work of improving the nation.

In the 1980s, national service efforts were launched at the grassroots level. For example, the Campus Outreach Opportunity League and Campus Compact were established to help mobilize service programs in higher education. Organizations such as the National Youth Leadership Council and Youth Service America were founded to promote service among K-12 age and older youth respectively.

In 1990, President George Bush created the Office of National Service in the White House and the Points of Light Foundation to foster volunteering. That same year, Congress passed, and President Bush signed into law, the National Community Service Act. This act authorized grants to schools to support service-learning and demonstration grants for national service programs to youth corps, nonprofits, and colleges and universities.

When Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, he set out to expand the federal commitment to national service. As one of his first major policy efforts, he signed into law the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 for the purpose of increasing the opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities. This act created the Corporation for National and Community Service to help achieve these goals.

The Corporation for National and Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service was created by combining two existing independent federal agencies: the "War on Poverty" era ACTION agency and the Commission on National and Community Service. The Corporation is responsible for administering all programs under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act, including AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA and the older American volunteer programs. The Corporation funds Learn and Serve America grants that support the integration of service in the curriculum from primary to higher education.

Elementary And Secondary Education Act

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was first passed in 1965 under the initiative of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The act has been the most sweeping federal measure to improve education overall and advance education equity in the United States. The law has been reauthorized every five years since 1965. Its original provisions, which were to aid public schools affected by poverty, to fund the purchase of materials for school libraries and classrooms, to establish model schools and use community centers to supplement school services and to strengthen state departments of education, have been considerably broadened. Over the years, the law has evolved as needs have changed and new concerns have been identified.

ESEA is important for service-learning because it is the primary source of federal funding for education. The service-learning strategy can help educators achieve various goals inside and outside of the classroom. In the 1994 reauthorization of ESEA, service-learning advocates successfully persuaded Congress to include service-learning language throughout the major titles of the law. This language permits ESEA funds to be used in support of service-learning activities that meet the goals of the various titles. For example, service-learning can be used to teach children mathematics, science, and reading as stated in Title I and to help create safe and drug-free schools as stated in Title IV.

ESEA was reauthorized again in 2002 and re-named the "No Child Left Behind Act." For information about the current law, click here.

Who Supports Service-Learning?

Service-learning is primarily a locally-driven activity, with most decision-making and control at the local level. Community leaders, students, parents, school district superintendents, and teachers across the country are advocates for service-learning.

The first federal legislation, passed in 1990, created a federal commission to award grants to states, schools, and community organizations to develop and implement service-learning. The National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 expanded the federal role in service-learning and provided funds for every state to incorporate service-learning into schools. In addition, many states and school districts provide financial resources and other support for the development and implementation of service-learning in K-12 schools.

Learning In Deed: Engaging Youth, Making A Difference

Learning In Deed, a four-year initiative to promote service-learning in school districts across America, was launched in 1998 by the The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The goal of the initiative was to encourage more school systems across the country to adopt service-learning, making quality service-learning opportunities available to youth in every classroom in grades K-12 throughout the country.

Building on a decade of experience in and support of service-learning programs, the Kellogg Foundation believes this concept of integrating service to others with classroom instruction engages youth in a powerful way that can ensure a bright future for our nation. Working with teachers, administrators, community leaders, parents, students, policymakers and national leaders, the Foundation has committed substantial resources to the effort.

Learning In Deed is comprised of:

Policy and Practice Demonstration Projects
California, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and South Carolina participated in a demonstration project. They received resources and technical assistance to identify models of state and school district policies and practices that are most effective at fostering service-learning, and to share what they learned with others.

National Commission on Service-Learning
The Commission encourages a higher level of commitment to service-learning in K-12 public education. Composed of leaders from education, government, youth development and community activism, the commission examines research and best practices, and persuades school districts, policymakers and funders to support service-learning.

National Service-Learning Partnership
The Partnership is a national network of members dedicating to advancing service-learning as a core part of every young person's education. The Partnership supports members sharing resources, organizing change and sponsoring innovation. The network consists of more than 8,500 members in all 50 states, including young people, teachers, parents, administrators, policymakers, education leaders, community partners, businesspeople, and researchers.

Learning In Deed Network of Researchers
The research network is identifying and communicating best practices and broadening the base of evidence in support of high-quality service-learning. In addition, its purpose is to promote the conduct of more and better research about the efficacy of service-learning.

Other Supporters

In addition to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service, other funders include: Carnegie Corporation of New York, Dewitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, The Ford Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and Surdna Foundation.